The New Big Bad
by gracia.michelle
Summary: Susan Wright is a vampire who has some unfinished business with Damon Salvatore. Now that she thinks she has found his weakness, she plans to strike. Set sometime after all the current drama in Mystic Falls comes to an end.
1. Prologue

Mystic Falls is a quiet town – that's what most people say. But I know different. The town has been on my radar for a few years now and what I have discovered, most people will not believe. And what have I discovered? I have discovered vampires. Yes, they are real. They are evil. They stalk their prey under the cover of darkness and leave them without even a drop of blood in their systems. But there's something special about these vampires. They can walk in sunlight; they can blend in so well with the human population that no one even suspects them; they get along with witches, werewolves and even hunters; they have the local law enforcement on their side and also the city council that is supposed to protect the town's citizens from vampires. They may have managed to fool the entire town but not me. I know that they are evil. They only pretend to do what's best for the town, to protect it. But I know they are just like the others of their kind and I know that they must be killed.

Who am I? I'm Susan Wright. How do I know all this? Let's just say that it's a long story. Why am I doing this? This is revenge, of course.

Let me explain. When I was 10 years old, my parents were both killed in a mugging that went bad. Their bodies were so badly mutilated that they couldn't even be given a proper funeral. At least that's the story the police were going with. But I know the truth. They were killed but not by a human being. He looked human at first but then his face changed and he revealed his true self. It was a vampire that attacked my parents. I watched from a far, hiding and praying that he wouldn't find me. I watched him bite into my parents' necks and suck them dry. I will never be able to forget his piercing blue eyes and those eyes continued to haunt me for years.

I was sent to therapy because everyone taught I was traumatized and hence, was not able to tell them exactly what happened. When I told them that it was a vampire that killed my parents, they wouldn't believe me. So I decided to pretend as if they were right. I kept up my charade until I was 18. I was done with school and now I was free to track my parents' attacker. But I wasn't stupid. I knew that there was no way that a weak human like me could take on a strong vampire like the one that attacked my parents and make it out alive. I knew what I had to do. In order to destroy the monster that killed my parents, I had to turn into one just like him.

I found a newly turned vampire and forced him to turn me. Once I completed my transition, I promised my self that once I rid the earth of the vampire that killed my parents, I would kill myself too. This was almost 40 years ago. It took me more than 35 years to find him again. When I did, I found out that he was somewhat popular in the circle of vampires. He had friends in all the right places. I followed him, studying him in hopes that one day I would be able to over power him. Now after all these years I think I'm finally ready to get my revenge. I know he's grown close to some of the residents. Damon Salvatore is going to beg me for death and after I destroy everyone he even remotely cares for, I will grant him the mercy of death.

Damon Salvatore, you will soon know what it's like to live in hell.


	2. Peace No More

AN: For the purposes of the story, Damon and Elena are together but Damon still does all the wrong things for the right reasons, Bonnie is the anchor but now has her powers as well, Caroline and Tyler are together as well. Please do review.

Whitmore was where all the action had been. The Augustine Society, creepy professors who knew too much, unexplained deaths, etcetera, etcetera. But for almost a month now, the college has been completely calm and devoid of drama. The three supernatural first years were extremely grateful for this. Elena, Caroline and Bonnie sat in their dorm enjoying the peace and quiet.

"I don't remember the last time the three of us were able to enjoy a whole month normal human life. Oh wait, I do remember. It was the month before Damon turned up at Mystic Falls." said Caroline.

Elena was quick to defend her boyfriend. "Come on, Care. You know that's not true." "She's right" Bonnie put in. "Damon was there even before Stefan so technically, it was the month before we found out that Damon was in town".

"Hate him all you want but I still miss him. It's been way too long since I last saw him".

"You know what? You're right. It's been almost two weeks since we went back to Mystic Falls and I for one would like to see my mom and Tyler". Caroline suddenly grew excited. "If we leave right now, we could sleep in our own beds tonight. What do you say?"

Bonnie couldn't help but agree, "So it's settled then. Back home it is".

-xx-

Meanwhile at Mystic Falls, Sheriff Forbes walked in to Mystic Grill expecting to see Damon there and she wasn't disappointed. She walked up to him and said, "I think the town has an all new vampire problem. Do you know anything about this?"

"I haven't noticed anything suspicious. What happened anyway?"

"Hikers found a body just off the trail. My deputies and I searched the area and found two more; none of them were well hidden. None of them were local. Each of them had been by themselves when they were attacked and they have each been reported missing."

"So odds are it's just some newbie vampire with zero control. I'll just find him and politely tell him to find another feeding ground. If he doesn't listen, I'll just stake him. Either way, your problem will be solved by midnight."

"I guess that means you'll be joining me for a stake out tonight?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

-xx-

The three girls were driving home to Mystic Falls talking animatedly about anything and everything under the sun. Caroline, who was driving, turned her attention to her phone. When she couldn't get her mother, the sheriff, on the phone, she left a message telling her that she as on her way back home. When she turned back to the road, she noticed something blocking her progress on the road. Her vampire reflexes sprang into action as she hit the brakes almost throwing the girls forward.

"What does that woman think she's doing, lying there on the road like that?" Caroline screamed. "Oh no, is she Damon's protégé or something?"

A brunette lay on the ground showing absolutely no sign of life. There was blood smeared on her clothes. Long story short, she was a mess. "I think we should see what's going on. She could be hurt and even if she is a vampire she wouldn't stand a chance against all three of us". Bonnie wasn't convinced that they were dealing with a vampire and so the three girls stepped out to take a closer look.

"No heartbeat" confirmed Elena.

"Now I'm sure it's a vampire."

"Or it could be dead person" countered Bonnie.

Elena and Caroline crouched next to the body while Bonnie stood closer to the car. The girl wasn't breathing. She was definitely dead and not a member of the undead club. The girls checked her pockets and found out that she was Amber Cartwright and according to her driver's license, she was from Atlanta. Along with her wallet, they found an envelope addressed to Damon Salvatore.

"Wait, Damon Salvatore? As in, your boyfriend, Damon?" Caroline asked in disbelief.

"This close to Mystic Falls? It must be. Do you think I should open it?"

Caroline looked at Elena as if she had asked her something really stupid. Elena opened the envelope and inside it was a single card with the words "This is my gift to you". Bonnie had a disgusted look on her face. "Who in their right minds would call a dead human body a gift?"

"A psychopath like Damon would!" Caroline exclaimed.

"This is not the time for questions" Elena reasoned." Let's just call your mom and tell her about the body and then we can go to the Salvatore boarding house and tell Damon about it as well."

Caroline called her mother and explained the whole situation to Liz. She left out the part about the note addressed to Damon thinking that the news would be best delivered in person but asked her to meet them at the boarding house. The girls then waited for the police to take the body and then continued on their way back to Mystic Falls.

-xx-

Damon and Sheriff Forbes, along with some of Mystic Falls' finest, walked through the woods in hopes of finding their newbie vampire. In a few minutes, Damon caught the strong smell of human blood. He pointed to the direction along which he was heading and sped off at vampire speed. He saw the vampire, a woman, leaning over the body of a bleeding human body but as he took a step closer, the vampire turned and saw him. She took off so quickly that Damon wasn't even able to get a good look at her face.

Liz soon found her way to where Damon was. "Were you able to get her?"

"No. She heard me before I could even get within 10 feet of her!" Damon said with irritation. "There's one more thing, the vampire? She isn't new at all. I've never seen a newbie vampire show this much restraint. She left the body the minute she heard me despite the fact that there's still a lot of blood left."

"I'll tell my deputies to be a little more cautious but we have to go. Caroline called me from the road to tell me that the girls were heading back home and they found a body. They're sure that it was a vampire that attacked her and apparently there's something more, something important but she didn't want to talk about it over the phone. She asked if we could meet her at the boarding house and I told her we could."

"Do you think it's the same one we saw feeding here?"

"Could be. There's only one way to find. Let's go see what the girls found."


	3. Quite the Puzzler!

By the time Damon and Liz reached the Salvatore boarding house, Stefan, Tyler, Matt, Jeremy, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie were already waiting for them. "A tiny vampire problem has the entire gang in attendance? You guys seem like you're actually thirsty for some action!" Damon said announcing his presence. After a round of greetings, the group settled down to discuss the matters at hand. Elena handed the envelope they found on the victim's body to Damon and explained everything.

"So let me get this straight, a vampire just killed a person as a gift for Damon and put her on the road just as your car was coming down that exact same road" Stefan clarified. Caroline nodded. "My guess is that we're dealing with someone Damon sired probably trying to impress him or something."

Jeremy was quick to interrupt, "But don't you think whoever it was, was taking a huge risk with laying out a body like that in the middle of the road with a note card. I mean, anybody could have found it and there was no guarantee that Damon would have received it too."

Liz joined in. "That's true. Also there's another question. Who was the note from, the vampire or the victim? The note was found in the victim's pocket so she could have placed it there herself."

"Damon, do you know an Amber Cartwright from Atlanta?" Caroline asked. Damon just shot her a glare. "I guess that answers my question. But I think it makes sense that the vampire is sending a message."

The group fell into silence as they mulled over the facts. This time it was Bonnie who spoke up. "Let's say Caroline is right and it was a vampire who wrote the note and let's assume that she wanted the note to reach Damon one way or another. Does that mean that this vampire knew about Elena and that she was on her way home?"

Stefan was the one to answer this time. "It's possible. The vampire could be someone right here in Mystic Falls. Even if the body was left on the road at night, we can't disregard the possibility that this vampire could walk in the sun. Whatever the intention, this vampire needs to be caught and fast."

"I almost forgot. Damon did see a vampire feeding in the woods tonight", said the Sheriff. Damon continued to explain what he had seen and then concluded, "I don't think they are the same though. If the vampire that sent me this note feeds on human beings, we should have found bodies sooner. If not here in Mystic Falls then maybe in the neighbouring towns but there has been no such news until today. But I guess we can't really be sure."

No sooner had Damon stopped speaking, a raven flew in through the window and into the Salvatore living room. All the occupants of the room turned to see the raven perched on the armrest of the chair by the fireplace. In its beak it held an envelope, similar to the one found in the victim's pocket. Damon slowly approached the bird and took the envelope from its beak. The bird immediately flew out the way it had come in.

Damon quickly opened the envelope and scanned the contents of the note. Puzzled, Matt asked, "Wasn't manipulating a raven what you used to do? So what, do you have a fan now?"

"Or an enemy", said Damon as he showed the paper to the others. In it was a note written in the same handwriting as the previous one. It read, "I hope you liked your first present. You found me when I was wrapping up the second one. The next time, it will be someone you know. You've been warned!"

-xx-

The black raven flew out into the night and stopped on the branch of a tree at the edge of the woods near the Salvatore boarding house. Under the tree stood a tall blonde woman, wearing a leather jacket and black jeans to match. Susan Wright wasn't close enough to hear what the occupants of the Salvatore boarding house were saying but she was sure of one thing – they had received the message. Personally, she thought controlling animals was a bit much but what better way to thwart Damon Salvatore than in his own style?

She contemplated waiting a little longer and snatching one of them if any decided to step out on their own. But she decided against it. She had made enough of an impact. There was no way that one of the gang would step out alone. They were all smarter and much more cautious than that. The reason why Damon Salvatore and his friends had managed to overcome every evil force that ever set foot on Mystic Falls was not because they were more powerful but because their enemies underestimated them. Susan was not about to make the same mistake as the others. She knew that each of the friends would sooner die than let one of the others get hurt. Susan had found a way to use this little fun fact to her advantage.

-xx-

Everyone present at the Salvatore boarding house was aware that one of them could easily be the next target. But none of them had any idea what they could do about it other than to keep their eyes and ears open. So the group decided to disperse.

Jeremy left for his room as well while Damon stood by the fireplace staring at the flames. Elena tried to make conversation. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

Damon turned around to see Elena and Stefan standing behind him, concern etched on their faces. "Honestly? I have no idea. But I was thinking of bringing in some reinforcements."

The two other vampires were momentarily confused. Then it dawned on Stefan. "You can't be serious! Have you already forgotten what happened the last time he was in town?"

"Of course, I remember, Stefan. But we need to look past that. He's really good; he can help me track this crazy vampire. You know that. And can the two of you honestly tell me that the idea never crossed your minds? Enzo and I would make a great team!"

Elena scoffed, "A great team? The last time he was here, the two of you went on a killing spree!"

"Yes and we killed every one we intended to kill. Doesn't that make us qualify for a good team?"

Stefan couldn't believe his brother would suggest such a thing given what had happened. "Damon, this isn't the time for your jokes. You do realise that there's a vampire who's all but sworn revenge against you right? She's threatening you. In fact she's threating all of us. Enzo is just going to add to the chaos and the body count."

"Oh, spare me the lecture. I'm well aware of what happened the last time. But this time it's different. I'm in control and I know what I'm doing. I can make sure that we don't kill any innocents. I'll babysit Enzo the whole time he's here if you want me to!"

"And who's going to watch over you? Who's going to make sure that your old friend doesn't draw you to your previous feeding habits?"

"I'm not you, Stefan, I have complete control over the bloodlust."

Elena had heard enough. "Stop it, both of you! I get that your both on edge after everything that's happened but you really shouldn't be taking it out on each other. Why don't we all just call it a day? We can discuss whether we should call Enzo or not tomorrow."

Damon looked ready to protest but Stefan was quick to agree and the three vampires made it up to their rooms. But sleep evaded all three. They knew that something big was about to happen

Elena tried to calm her nerves, reminding herself that they had managed to stand up to Katherine, Klaus, Silas, Qetsyiah and make it out alive. She knew that together they could take on whoever this new threat was but she couldn't help but worry about the safety of those she loved. Damon was foremost on her mind. She knew that a quiet Damon was a deadly Damon. He hadn't said much since he read the second note. She could tell that this was bothering him a lot more than he let on.

Stefan knew he had been too harsh on his brother. He knew that trouble was brewing but he didn't believe in Damon's philosophy that the best way to deal with trouble was to bring in more trouble. They were all in danger. The note indicated that the vampire would be going after someone he knew. Damon may not be in immediate danger but he wasn't going to react well to a vampire attacking someone he cared about. Bringing Enzo into the situation would only cause him to spiral, Stefan was sure of it.

Damon knew that everyone was expecting him to do something reckless and he would have been lying if he said that he wasn't tempted to. He was mad. Scratch that. He was furious. All he wanted to do was find the vampire who was behind all this and just rip her heart out. But he knew that it wasn't the best course of action. He had a fair amount of experience in doing the wrong thing and right now, he wasn't going to pretend like he hadn't learnt anything. He knew that the best way to protect the people he cared for did not involve committing a string of murders for the greater good. For this reason alone, Damon decided to give the situation more thought.

All three of them, lost in their own thoughts slowly drifted off to sleep. Peace and quiet finally settled over the Salvatore boarding house.


	4. Predator or Prey?

While most of Mystic Falls was still asleep, Matt Donovan was awake. Unlike the rest of his friends who were now in college, he had a job to get to and he didn't want to be late. The idea of a new threat to the town really worried him. When he stepped out of the front door, he saw a man making his way to the porch. Matt stopped him and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Matt Donovan?"

"Yeah, I am. What's all this about?"

"I have a message for you."

"A message? From who?"

"I don't know. But she wanted me to tell you that you should stop aiding Damon Salvatore and that if you don't, you would be next."

The man then turned around and started to walk away. Matt grabbed his hand and forced him to turn around. "Who are you? Do you remember anything about the woman who gave you the message?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I'm supposed to leave now. I've given you the message and I can't stay any longer."

It was clear that the man had been compelled. Matt immediately went back to the house and ran up to Tyler's room and shook him awake. Matt told him about the message from the vampire. He may be immune to the vampires' compulsion thanks to his vervain bracelet but he knew that he was still easy prey.

"What do you say you ditch work and Caroline, you and I could make a trip to the Salvatore boarding house and see if there's any way who this vampire and what she wants?" offered Tyler.

"I need to get to the Grill. I really can't afford to lose my job!"

"Fine then. I don't want you killed by some vengeful vampire on your way to work. I'll drop you off and then Caroline and I will go meet the other at the boarding house."

So, the two pals left the mansion together.

-xx-

Damon Salvatore was in no way a morning person. But the events of the previous night had him on edge. He poured himself a drink in an attempt to calm his nerves. Switching on the news, he listened to see if any more bodies had been found. He knew that if there had been anything new, Liz would have called him. Watching the news was only giving him something to do. Convinced that the news wasn't going to give him any more information, he switched the TV off and took out his phone. Scrolling through his contacts, he considered calling Enzo. They were all in danger and despite Enzo's slightly violent tendencies, he could be a huge help to the Mystic Falls gang and it looked like they needed all the help they could get.

He could hear Elena's phone ringing in his room and checked the time. "Who calls at 6.45 in the morning?" he asked himself and quickly made his way up the stairs and answered the phone before it could wake Elena up. It was Caroline. "What's up Blondie? Got nothing better to do at 6.45am?"

"You think I would even be up if I had the choice? Your vampire nemesis sent Matt a compelled human message today" said Caroline over the phone.

"What? What are you talking about? When did this happen?"

"This morning. She compelled a man to tell Matt that if he didn't stop aiding you, he would be next."

"He would be next? What kind of a lame threat is that?"

"It's not a lame threat. Matt is the easiest target, it makes sense that she would go after her."

"So now we're assuming that she knows all of us?"

"I can't think of another way, Damon. Tyler, Bonnie and I are about to come over. Is that okay?"

"Fine. I'll wake the kids up." Damon said and hung up the phone. The day was off to a terrible start just as he had feared and for the life of him, he couldn't even guess who would want him dead this time.

-xx-

The entire group minus Liz and Matt were once again in the Salvatore boarding house's living room. "Matt's freaked out" began Tyler.

"As he should be!" Caroline huffed. "You do realize how easy it would be to kill him right?

"Damon, do you have any idea who it could be?" asked Stefan. "I know you didn't get a good look at her face but you still saw her. Did she seem familiar at all?"

"I can't think of who it could be. But whoever she is, she's a blonde. That's the only thing I'm sure about right now" Damon was starting to get frustrated. He'd spent most of the previous night trying to think of who it could be. The downside to being him was that he had managed to make a lot of enemies and blonde woman was not enough to narrow the list down.

"So what do we do now?" asked Jeremy.

"We make her come to us", said Tyler.

"Tyler! We can't take that risk. We'd be putting Matt in danger. She's made it clear that he's the next target." Elena wanted to make sure that the idea was never brought up again. She couldn't bear the thought of her childhood friend being hurt.

"Look, if we let her do what she wants and just wait around here, she will always have the upper hand. We know absolutely nothing about her but she on the other hand seems to know us well enough to know that the girls would be driving down that road at that time. It was a last minute decision to come to Mystic Falls which means that she's watching us. If we want to have the upper hand, we have to lure her out to where we want her. That way we can be ready for her and we can actually bring her down." Tyler really was living up to his alpha male reputation. The way he saw it, the fight was inevitable. The best they could do in the given circumstance was to have the fight on their own terms.

"Tyler has a point but Elena's right as well. We can't use Matt as bait. There has to be some way to lure her out" said Stefan.

"Maybe we won't have to lure her out at all. Maybe she'll come out on her own", said Bonnie, speaking up for the first time. "She was able to control the crow which means she's strong. But now, she's expecting a fight too. If she really is watching us, then she must know that we out number her as well. She would want to keep her strength up; she would want to feed as often as possible."

"So you think she'll be hunting again tonight?" Jeremy was intrigued.

"I think so. But not in Mystic Falls. She wouldn't want us to catch her off guard."

"I know a place like that", said Damon as everyone turned to him, looking for an explanation. "When I wanted to keep the council off my trail when I first came to Mystic Falls, I would go to the road outside town and stop people who were out driving late at night. In fact that's the road you girls took on your way back from Whitmore."

"I guess that's our best bet then. Looks like we're going on a hunting trip" concluded Tyler.

-xx-

Nothing of note happened during the day and for that, Bonnie was grateful. She was sitting in the Salvatore living room going through her grimoire again. The others were packing supplies for the hunting trip – crossbows, vervain grenades and stakes. If she was right about the vampire needing to hunt and if Damon was also right about where she might go, then there was a good chance that their problem would be solved before it had even truly begun.

As the sun began to set, the group was joined by Matt and Liz. Together they all made their way out of the Salvatore boarding house.

-xx-

On arriving at the vampire's most likely feeding ground, the group decided to split up in hopes of covering more ground. Bonnie, Jeremy and Elena stayed on the road in case the vampire tried Damon and Katherine's trick to lure victims out of their vehicles. Matt, Tyler and Caroline went off in one direction into the woods while Damon, Stefan and Liz went the other way.

The group on the road didn't see or hear anything for a very long time. Not even a single car passed them by on the street.

"Do you think she'll be here?" Elena asked suddenly.

"I don't know. But if she is, then we're going to end this once and for all", said Bonnie.

"Why do you think she's after Damon anyway? What did he do that was so bad that she had to stalk all of us and threaten to kill us too?" asked Jeremy.

"Are you really going to ask me that? We're talking about Damon! Who knows what he's done. No offense, Elena."

"I know, I know. Damon may have done a lot of things in the past but I don't think it's fair that everyone judges him based only on that. He's helped us tons of times…" A shrill scream rang out from within the woods, interrupting Elena. It was definitely a woman and it sound like she was in pain. Could it be Caroline or Liz? It couldn't be. The boys were with them, they wouldn't let anything happen to them. Then they heard a second blood curdling screams. Their friends could be in danger and they had to help. The three teenagers ran into the woods following the screams they had heard.

-xx-

AN: Thank you so much for reading, reviewing and following. It really does mean a lot to me.


	5. The First Victim

All was silent for within the woods. Liz didn't feel like they were making any progress and she knew it was probably because Damon and Stefan were trying to keep pace with her. She suggested that they split up to cover more ground. The brothers initially expressed concern but then agreed and the three of them walked off in opposite directions.

Liz thought she heard someone walking up behind her. She turned around and swept the torch light in a wide arc but she didn't see anybody. Suddenly she heard a thump behind her. She spun around and saw a blonde vampire standing there with her fangs exposed a blood smeared all over her face. Reflexively, Liz shot at the vampire with wooden bullets. This only seemed to anger the vampire as she staggered forward. Realizing that the vampire was too close and was holding a stake, Liz took out a syringe filled with vervain. She eyed the stake carefully wanting to stay away from it. The vampire was zoned in on her and she raised the stake just as Liz raised the vervain dart. Both women took their shot at the exact same time. But the vampire was too fast and she managed to lodge the stake into Liz's chest just as the syringe embedded itself into her neck and its contents were emptied into her body. Liz gasped. She had only a second to register what had just happened because in the next, she was dead.

-xx-

Tyler, Matt and Caroline had also decided to split up. The four vampires who were in the forest could each smell a faint scent of human blood and they each began to track it. Stefan, who had been closest to the place where Liz had found the vampire, was the first to reach. He found Liz's lifeless body lying in a heap with a stake plunged right through her heart. Beside her, was a blonde vampire. She had a syringe stuck on her neck. Liz must have managed to get it in there before she was killed, thought Stefan. But the vampire was waking up and she was trying to get the syringe out of her neck. Stefan didn't waste a minute. He ran to the vampire and staked her knowing that he had to keep her weak. She screamed out in pain and Stefan was sure that the sound was going to bring people from two towns away to see what was happening but he didn't have a choice.

When he turned around, he saw Tyler, Caroline and Damon standing in shock just a few feet away from Liz's body. Caroline was the first to come out of the daze. She ran to her mom and tried to wake her up. She felt for a pulse but there was none. She knew the minute that she saw her mother laying there that she was gone but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. This couldn't be happening was all she could think. She began to sob uncontrollably as Tyler stepped closer to her and sat next to her. He held her close offering the only comfort he could. He knew how hard it was to lose a parent and he knew that there was nothing he could say to make things better.

Caroline looked up at Stefan. "Was she the one who…" Stefan simply nodded. She removed her own stake and walked to the vampire and plunged the stake into her chest. She could feel the stake break the other vampire's ribs and the vampire screamed louder. Caroline twisted the stake effectively killing her off. The vampire's body shrivelled into a grey husk like she had seen happen many times before. She slumped to the ground as another round of sobs shook her violently.

Hearing the screams, the others had also come to the spot. They all stood rooted to the ground when they saw Liz's body lying crumpled on the ground and Caroline crying. There was nothing they could do.

-xx-

The group was once more back in the Salvatore boarding house. Caroline sat crying as Tyler held her. Damon stood on the porch making calls to arrange for a cover for Liz's death. He had informed her deputies of what had happened. The story there were going with was that her assailant killed her while trying to evade arrest. It seemed like an unlikely story but Damon was too tired to protest and decided to leave it up to the others to clean this up. He went back into the house and the mood was sombre. They had managed to defeat yet another enemy but the price that it came with was more than any of them had been willing to pay. He told the other about the story that they were going to use. "Anything is better than staked like a vampire, I guess", said Tyler.

"Better? How could it be better? She's still dead!" Caroline said in a trembling voice.

Damon tried to soothe her. He would have been lying if he said that he didn't feel a little responsible for what had happened to Liz. "I know, Caroline, and I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do to change that. I wish we hadn't split up."

Caroline interrupted him. "That's right, Damon, you shouldn't have split up. What were you thinking, leaving my mom alone like that?"

"We've worked together before and we've done it tons of times. Your mom was good at what she did. I didn't think there was any danger."

"You didn't think and now she's dead. Once again, Damon Salvatore gets what he wants. His big threat is dead and so is my mother. Have you ever spared a minute to think of the consequences of your actions? Everything you do always ends up hurting someone around you and either you don't care or you're simply too blind to see it. You were supposed to be her friend and you let her die", accused Caroline.

Damon was lost for words and for once he actually looked hurt. Stefan couldn't help but defend his brother. "Caroline, it isn't Damon's fault. It was your mother's idea to split up. She wasn't expecting anything she couldn't handle either. You, Tyler and Matt decided to split up too. People make mistakes sometimes and leaving your mother alone was a mistake."

"How could you still take his side, after everything that has happened? He blames everything he does on Katherine. He kills people because of Katherine; he doesn't care because of Katherine. He's just looking for someone to blame all because he's too scared to take responsibility for his own actions." She turned to Damon and said, "Let me make something extremely clear to you. Everything bad that's ever happened in Mystic Falls in the last couple of years has been your fault. It was your fault that Katherine even came back here. If you hadn't tried to open that tomb, she would still be in hiding and almost every dead person we know would still be alive, I would still be human, so would Elena and Tyler. Tyler would have never triggered the werewolf curse! My mom wouldn't have been out there looking for a vampire; she wouldn't have died stake like one. You know what? I can't stay here. I want to go home." Caroline began to sob once more. Elena and Bonnie enveloped their friend in a hug as she cried.

Tyler offered to take Caroline back to his house so she wouldn't have to be alone. Soon the living room cleared out except for Damon, Stefan, Jeremy and Elena. Damon stood watching the fire crackling, completely lost in thought. This was starting to turn into a regular thing for him every night and he didn't like it at all. "You shouldn't really take what Caroline said seriously. She's upset and when she's upset, she tends to say things that she doesn't mean." Elena said.

Damon looked at her, his expression unreadable. "She's right though." He said and walked out of the room.

The three others exchanged a look and silently made their way up to their own rooms.

-xx-

Damon left the door open a crack knowing that Elena would be here soon. He didn't really want to talk to anyone right then. He took of his jacket and sat down heavily on the edge of his bed. He felt unnaturally tired after the night's hunting trip gone bad. He couldn't even get himself to focus on the fact that the threat had been eliminated. His mind wandered to Liz and he couldn't get the picture of her body out of his head. He slumped back into the bed and noticed an envelope addressed to him on the pillow.

Damon figured that the vampire must have left some sort of note to taunt him before she left for the woods to feed. He just wanted to let the note burn like her body was being burnt by some deputy in the woods now. But his curiosity got the best of him and he opened the envelope. But this time, there was a letter inside it. Damon began reading it.

"Damon, you underestimated me. Do you honestly think that I would go out and feed in your old hunting ground? I've been watching you and your friends for years now. I followed you here to Mystic Falls so I know exactly what you did since the day you decided to come here. There is nothing you can do to stop me. I want you dead but before that I'm going to make you regret ever running into me.

All threats aside, I'm sure you're wondering who I am. You attacked my parents one night about 40 years go. You didn't see me then. I was too scared and I was hiding. But you did run into me again a couple of times after I became a vampire; you even spoke to me once right here in Mystic Falls. In fact, that was at the school's decade dance last year. You didn't realize that I was a vampire.

Now about tonight, the vampire that your friend, Caroline, staked wasn't me. Her name was Charlie. I turned her three months ago. She was grateful to me for that and promised to do anything for me in return. I asked her to stake the sheriff and she stood by her word. She was successful too. I watched you tonight as well. I was not too far away from you in the woods and I heard every word that was spoken in front of you. In fact, right now, as I write this letter I am sitting in your room, on your bed. Caroline really hates you now, doesn't she? Soon everyone who was with you tonight will either stand against you or be dead. When I've accomplished that, I will stake you myself. Enjoy your last few days on earth.

Susan."

Damon just sat on the bed too stunned to even do anything. He was horrified. They had killed the wrong vampire. Liz had died for no reason.

-xx-

Thanks you for reading. Please do review.


	6. One Step Ahead

When Elena walked into the bedroom that she shared with Damon, she was expecting to see him fast asleep on the bed but instead he was sitting there completely rigid, holding a paper in his hand. Elena tried calling out his name but he didn't respond at all. She sat on the bed next to him and gently eased the paper out of his grip and read the letter. "So we killed the wrong vampire?"

"Looks like it. She was here. We were just downstairs and we didn't know. A human, a witch, a hunter, a hybrid and four vampires, none of us could tell that there was someone else in the house besides us!" Damon literally screamed.

Jeremy and Stefan both heard him and came to his room.

"I know, Damon. We'll get her. She won't get away with this, we won't let her. Do you know who this Susan could be?" they heard Elena ask him. Damon just shook his head.

"What's going on here guys?" asked Jeremy.

"Damon found another envelope addressed to him", she said as she handed the letter to Stefan. Stefan read it and then passed it on to Jeremy so he could read it. "We have to tell the others" was Jeremy's immediate response.

"She's toying with us. She knew exactly what we were going to do and where we would be. She was brave enough to come into the house when all of us were here." Damon couldn't believe that a much younger vampire had managed to outwit both him and his brother. But she had been clever. She had watched them all long enough to know exactly what they would do. She knew that they would feel safe in the boarding house and took complete advantage of it. He had let all this happen and for that, Damon was furious with himself.

The enraged look on Damon's face was starting to scare Elena but they needed to figure out who this Susan was. "It's signed Susan. She just told us her name but we still don't know who she is. There must be atleast a 50 Susans in Mystic Falls."

"Yeah but she says that she spoke to Damon at the decade dance last year in school. So it must have been a student or a chaperone" said Jeremy.

"That makes sense but I don't remember who I spoke to at the decade dance. I was trying to carry out a plan to fool Klaus, remember?" They all remembered very well Jeremy and Bonnie had been the only people in on his plan and Elena had thought that Bonnie was dead for a while but she had only cast a spell on herself to make Klaus think the same.

"I can't think of any way to find out who this is short of looking into the town records in hopes of finding some one named Susan who moved into town around the same time as Damon. What's worse is that she could be going by someother name." Stefan was trying to help but he couldn't think of a single thing they could do. With Klaus and Silas it was different. Even if they didn't know exactly who they were up against, there was still a fair amount of lore about them and it was a matter of figuring out which parts of it were true. But with Susan, they knew nothing. The only thing that they knew for sure was that Damon had killed her parents in the 70's. If he remembered correctly, Damon's humanity was off at that point. He would have killed a lot of people and he definitely wouldn't have bothered to keep track of them.

Damon suddenly got up and took his jacket from where he put it on. Just as he was about to head out of the room, Stefan stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"Well, my friend is dead and I thought that the vampire who was threating us is dead to but she's not. What do you think I'm going to do? I sure as hell won't be able to fall asleep even if I tried. I might as well get some work done."

Damon walked out the door and made his way to his car. Stefan decided that as long as they were going against a vampire they knew nothing about, it was best if they weren't left alone to defend themselves. So, he joined Damon in whatever he was going to do. This was the best way to make sure that his brother didn't get himself killed in a temper.

-xx-

Susan stood by the edge of the woods and watched the scene unfolding outside the Salvatore boarding house. Damon got out the door first and was soon followed by Stefan. It was clear from his actions that Damon was seething. He was going to do whatever it took to make sure he put an end to her. That was exactly what she wanted. From what she had seen, Damon could control his bloodlust, his bad humor but not his temper. His temper was always the reason for his downfall and this time would be no different.

She watched as the brothers got into the car and leave the Salvatore boarding house. Elena and Jeremy who were standing on the porch, turned around and went back into the house. For a minute Susan considered her options. She could either follow the brothers or wait here and see what the Gilberts were going to do. But it wasn't a difficult choice. She knew that the Gilberts wouldn't try anything stupid. Most likely, the would call their friends and let them know that Susan was still alive and then wait for Damon and Stefan to return. But she knew that following Damon would be interesting. When he was angry, he was reckless. If she paid enough attention, she would be able to turn his plans for the night against him.

Until the brothers had sped out in the car, Damon had been tight lipped about what he planned on doing. He was usually so predictable. If he was angry, he killed people. If he was upset, he killed people. If he was happy, the human population would all live to see another day. But this time it was different. Stefan had chosen to follow Damon. There was no way Stefan would let his brother kill someone. For once, Susan had no idea what Damon Salvatore was going to do and she didn't like it.

This line of reasoning told her that her best option was to follow the Salvatores. She would have to keep her eyes and ears open if she wanted to remain one step ahead of him. Now that her plan was in action, she couldn't affoard to fall behind.

-xx-

For probably the first time in his life, Stefan was glad that he was a vampire. Damon was driving like a maniac. Driving angry was a bad thing for Damon to be doing but it wasn't like he had a choice. He had chosen to accompany his brother.

Stefan turned to see his brother and he noticed that Damon actually looked calm. The rage that had been on his face earlier was now completely gone. "I'm glad you decided to join me. If you hadn't, this whole trip would have been a waste of time." Damon turned to his brother and flashed him a genuine smile.

Stefan couldn't help but wonder what was going on. "You've got that look on your face like your on to something and yet you're driving like a maniac."

"I'm not going that fast. About 40 over the speed limit, that's all. You gotta love vampire reflexes." Stefan just glared at him. "Okay, okay" said Damon as he slowed down to the speed limit.

"Care to explain why we're on this little joy ride?"

"Well, little brother, remember what Susan made completely clear to us? She's watching us. She's always been one step ahead of us because she's been listening to our conversations. She knows what we're going to do the minute we make plans."

"So you figured that if you went around the town breaking the speed limit, there was no way that she could listen in?"

"Think about it, Stefan, it's brilliant. We're inside a moving vehicle. I'm driving so fast, the engine drowns out my voice and you know it's difficult to hear when you're running fast and the conversation is within a metal shell that you are outside of."

Stefan was starting to see the logic in what Damon was saying. He had to admit, his brother was every bit as devious as the vampire that was after them. He actually felt as if things were looking up for them. "So what was so important that you didn't want her to know."

"She mentioned that she spoke to me at the decade dance. I know I told you guys that I don't remember who I spoke to but I lied. So unless she's dyed her hair since then and used an alias to register at the school, I think I would be able to recognize her."

"So is that what we're going to do now?"

"Are you insane, of course not! We need to access school records but I can't compel someone to do that for me right now. No, that little assignment is going to have to wait until the morning. What we're going to do is drive around a little, make it look like your incessant talking and the speed thrill have calmed me down and we'll go back home. One more thing, we need to find a new meeting place unless you want to bug your own house."

"Fine. Let's just drive around town at breakneck speed whenever we need to talk to someone else about this."

"You are clearly not good at sarcasm. What we need is a place where she can't get in. Since no one alive owns the boarding house, she was able to sneak in. What if we were to have out meetings at a living person's house?"

"Then, maybe, we might actually be a step ahead of her for once."

"Maybe" agreed Damon.


	7. Closing In

The next morning, Susan Wright stood at the edge of the cemetery. She watched as people stood around a freshly dug grave. A large casket was the centre of the proceedings. Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie, Elena, Matt, Stefan and Jeremy stood closest to it, listening to what the pastor was saying. Tyler stood by Caroline offering her whatever support he could. It looked as if the whole town had gathered there. Clearly Sheriff Liz Forbes was popular among the citizens of Mystic Falls. Susan scanned the crowd looking for the one face she knew was missing. It was a while before she spotted him standing at the very edge of the crowd. Damon was intently watching the funeral service but he seemed to be keeping his distance. From time to time, she would see him scan the crowd, giving everyone a suspicious look. She laughed to herself thinking of how transparent Damon could be at times. But she knew that the stakes had been raised. Killing Liz had gotten everyone's attention and she knew that she had to be extremely careful from this point forward.

As she stood there, she saw Damon turn towards her and fix her with a glare. She stepped behind a tree hoping that he hadn't been able to get a good look at her. Damon stared in the same direction for a few more minutes but he was soon distracted by the people around him starting to disperse. Damon quickly turned away and walked to his car. He started up and left the funeral without waiting for the others to catch up with him.

Susan knew that if she followed Damon now, she could get him alone and there was a chance that she could over power him. He drank human blood too but she drank directly from the source. That should give her a slight advantage. She really contemplated cutting to the chase and just killing him instead of letting the group get closer to finding out who she was. But she had her orders and she knew she had to follow them. Sure, she held a grudge against Damon Salvatore but she didn't necessarily care for his friends. It didn't matter if they lived or died but she had been told by an older vampire, Jason, that this was bigger than her little grudge. The Mystic Falls gang was involved in something big and Damon was at the centre of it all. Jason knew what they were up to but he didn't know their exact plan, which is why he needed Damon alive. He had convinced her and her friends that the only way to do that was to make sure that his minions were neutralized.

If she followed Damon now, she would be tempted to destroy him and she wouldn't be able to resist. For this reason, she decided to stay behind with the rest of the group. She watched as they all got into their cars and followed them to the Forbes household. There, she waited to see if they would do something interesting.

-xx-

Damon found himself driving to Mystic Falls High. It was a Sunday and it seemed unlikely that anyone would be there. He had been watching the crowd at the funeral. He had seen a blonde girl standing at the very edge. The minute he saw her, he thought about the vampire threatening them. Could it be her? No, it couldn't. She had been careful enough for all this time, she wouldn't have made such a slip now. Unless, she wanted Damon to see her. When he looked again, the girl was gone. Maybe he was too obsessed with the situation. He knew he couldn't just wait around until Monday. He had to do something now and that's why he was at the school.

The school hallway was deserted just as he had expected. He heard a noise to his left and walked along that direction. He soon found himself at the school's office room. A woman, probably in her mid-40s, sat on a chair behind the counter going through the drawer. When she heard footsteps approach her, she looked up to see Damon standing in front of her. "Can I help you?" She asked.

Damon fixed the lady with his most dazzling smile and looked right into her eyes and said, "I believe you can. I need to take look at the student records – both past and present. Could you be a dear a pull them up for me?"

The woman looked dazed. "Yeah sure", she said and booted up the computer and logged in giving Damon access to the student records. He started by searching for the name 'Susan' but came up with five students. Two brunettes and three blondes. Out of the three, one stood out to him. He remembered her. She was standing there by the trees during the funeral earlier in the day. It had to be her, he was sure of it. He quickly printed out her details and turned back to the woman. "Why are you here on a Sunday?"

"I left my keys to a bank locker here by mistake. I came back to get it."

"Forget I was ever here. If anyone asks, you came back for the keys. You had some trouble finding it but you found it in the draw and you left. Nod if you understand."

The woman nodded. Pleased, Damon left the school.

-xx-

Stefan and Jeremy had left the Forbes' house early while Elena opted to stay behind. The two boys sat in the living room waiting for Damon to get home. Neither of them had seen the older vampire during the day.

"Do you think Damon's out trying to figure out who this Susan person is?" asked Jeremy.

"Knowing Damon, yes. He's not going to be able to sit still until she's dead. I just hope he doesn't get himself killed in the process."

"And all of us. She made it clear that we were all targets, Stefan. I think we need to worry about ourselves first."

Before Stefan could respond, they heard the front door slam hard. Damon walked in holding up a paper saying, "Bingo!"

Stefan grabbed the paper from Damon without saying a word and the showed it to Jeremy. "Is this-". Before he could complete the sentence, Damon held his hand up to silence him. He nodded his head in the direction of the car. The two nodded and followed him. As soon as they had gotten in, Damon started the car engine and made his way out to the road.

"We can't say anything in the boarding house because apparently, it's grown ears", said Damon.

"So as I was going to ask, is that Susan. The girl in the picture?" asked Jeremy.

"The one and only."

"I thought you didn't remember her" countered Jeremy.

"Damon was just saying that because he thought that Susan was listening in. He explained it to me later in the car. It's definitely her. But when did you originally meet her?" asked Stefan.

"I've never met her in my life."

"Then how do you know it's her?" asked Jeremy.

"Because she was at the funeral – lurking and acting all suspicious, hiding behind a tree."

"So now, we've found her so how do we get rid of her?" asked Stefan.

"Fear not brother, I have a plan. But I'm gonna need some help. Think you can get the rest of the Scooby gang to meet us somewhere our little friend can't hear us?"

"There's the Lockwood mansion. Matt owns the house right? So she can't get in." Stefan put in.

"Then to the Lockwood mansion it is", said Damon turning his car heading towards the Lockwood estate. Jeremy and Stefan informed the others about their new meeting place.


	8. Of Plans and Plots

A lean dark haired vampire stood in the living room of an empty spacious house. It was comfortable in there; they even had a fireplace. It was the best living accommodation that he and his band of vampire friends had been able to find in the last decade. Jason Meyers had been a vampire for centuries now. He moved from one country to the other every 5 years. After spending most of the last century in Europe, he turned his attention back to North America. He had lived here as a human and had always returned every century but he was careful to return to a different city each time. This time his target was Mystic Falls. He had been in town for about a month now and he really liked it there. The only thing that was standing in his way was the fact that there was already a band of vampire settled there. If they somehow caught wind about Jason and his friends, he knew that they wouldn't be allowed to live there. He just had to get rid of them and he could spend the next few years in Mystic Falls.

His friends, Aaron Jefferson, Kaitlin Moore and Rosaline McBride would help him with this. But going against a larger group of vampires with no knowledge about them was stupid and he knew that. He would never put himself or his friends at such risk. This is where Susan Wright came in. She already had a grudge against one of the vampires. All Jason had to do was motivate her to take out not just Damon Salvatore but also his friends. This was an easy task. From the little research that he had done, he had found out that other than the Salvatore brothers, the remaining vampire had all been turned in the last couple of years. In watching the town's local vampires, he found Susan watching them as well. He soon convinced her that they were on the same side and had her tell him everything that she knew about the group.

It turned out that it was Damon Salvatore's blood that had been used to turn two of the vampires and the last one was turned by an enemy. It was easy to convince her that Damon had done this on purpose and that he was trying to build an army in order to take over the human population and make it so that vampires could feed anyone at any time and the humans would have no way to resist. He told her that he and his friends had turned only to stop Damon Salvatore's plans. Luckily, she was gullible and she couldn't even tell that Jason was much older than the Salvatores.

Jason's plan was simple. He would let Susan wreak havoc on the Mystic Falls gang. He knew that she would not be able to destroy them. No, this group of vampires would have to be smarter if they were living undetected among humans. She wouldn't be able to defeat them, but she would be able to weaken them; separate them by causing rifts among the friends. They will eventually catch up to her but by then they would be divided. She would die and they would be broken. Some would move out of town while others will stay. That would be when Jason would make his move. He would swoop in and kill anyone who chooses to stay behind. Then Mystic Falls would be his for the taking.

-xx-

When the Salvatore brothers and Jeremy reached the Lockwood house, Matt was the only one who was there. "So why are we here?" asked Matt.

"To save me the trouble of answering the same question another dozen times, why don't we just wait for everyone else to get here?" Damon didn't quite feel like being patient that day.

"Well there might be a minor problem with that", said Elena walking into the house. She looked apologetic. Bonnie followed close behind her.

"Problem? What are you talking about?" asked Stefan.

"Caroline's upset and I'm sure you can understand that she doesn't want any part in this vampire hunt. She says she won't stop us but she isn't going be helping us and Tyler's kinda on her side too", explained Bonnie.

Damon looked upset and angry at the same time. "Well, at least I won't have to worry about Blondie and alpha wolf ruining my plans. How about I tell you what I've found and we leave before they get back?"

Damon and Stefan together explained to the others their reason for choosing to meet at the Lockwood mansion instead of the Salvatore boarding house. They showed the others the photo of Susan and told them about how Damon had found her and about seeing her at the funeral as well.

"So what's the plan? We know she's going to come after us. We have no clue who it's going to be this time so I don't see how we're going to be able to protect ourselves. She's older than most of us which means the only people who can definitely fight her and walk out alive are the two of you", said Jeremy pointing at the brothers.

"Having a plan didn't really help us the last time. So this time, we'll let her do whatever she wants to do. We'll adopt the buddy system or whatever. For all we know she could send other vampires after us or compel people to do her dirty work. Let's just keep out eyes and ears peeled for any and all signs of danger. If anyone or anything looks even remotely suspicious, then kill it", said Damon as all the others in the room shot him a look. "Did I say kill it? I meant deal with it", he amended, rolling his eyes.

"I just got a text from Tyler. He's on his way here with Caroline", interjected Matt.

"I guess you guys should get going then", said Elena. "Bonnie and I are going to be spending the night here with her."

-xx-

Jeremy, Damon and Stefan said their goodbyes and left for the Salvatore boarding house. The drive back was quiet, almost too quiet and it was making Stefan uncomfortable. However, he decided not to say anything. Thanks to Damon's driving, it didn't take very long to get home. As soon as they stepped foot into the house, all three of them sensed something wrong. Suddenly, they heard the sound of glass breaking. All three of them made their way quickly to the sound only to find the window of the library shattered all over the floor. Among the broken glass lay an envelope. They all knew who it was going to be addressed to. Damon walked to the glass, crouched down and picked up the envelope. Sure enough, it was addressed to him. The other two quickly made checked the other rooms in the house to find it empty. When they came back into the library, Damon had opened the note and was reading it. This time it was short.

" She loves me, she loves me not…You wouldn't have to wonder if she were dead. I have my target and this time I won't miss", Damon read out loud. "If she thinks going after Elena is a good idea she's delusional."

Damon headed towards the front door but turned around when Stefan called out his name. "You know she's perfectly safe right. Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler and Matt are with her in the same house, a house where no vampire can enter. Caroline really needs her friend right now so just let her stay the night. Call her and tell her about the note and tell her to be careful. You can pick her up first thing in the morning."

Damon thought for a while and decided that his brother did have a point. So, he just settled for calling Elena and told her everything. It was late and he was trying to fall asleep and once again sleep seemed to evade him. His mind kept wandering to the threat. He was sure that he could protect Elena from Susan but he couldn't help but think "what if". He couldn't imagine a life without her, not anymore. She was the only thing keep him sane. She was the reason he was on speaking terms with Stefan. Without her it seemed as if his life would fall apart. If something were to happen to her, he knew he wouldn't be able to take it. She made him want to be a better person, to fight against what he believed to be his nature. He needed her.

But every time he closed his eyes, Damon could only see her body lying limp on the floor with a stake through her heart, desiccating. He saw different versions of her death – either she was stabbed by the blonde vampire from behind or she was shot dead by a wooden bullet fired by someone he couldn't see. Damon decided that if his conscious mind had only such thoughts to offer, his sub conscious would only have worse. So, he got out of bed and went down to get himself a drink.

Seeing his brother was still downstairs, Damon decided to join him but he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He redirected his steps to the front door and opened it. Standing on the porch was a vampire that Damon never thought he would see again. "Hello mate", he said. "Aren't you going to let an old friend in?" asked Enzo.

Damon stood rooted to the spot for a minute which was enough time to bring Stefan there. "What are you doing here?" asked Stefan when he saw Damon was too shocked to speak.

"Is that anyway to treat a guest?"

Damon snapped out of his trance. "You know you're welcome any time", he said with a smile and stepped away to let him in. "But I have to ask, what brings you here?"

"Hold on, doesn't that mean you didn't ask him to come?" asked Stefan, puzzled.

"No, your brother didn't call me here. I was just passing by and figured I'd pay a visit to my favourite people in the world. Why do you think Damon would call me anyway?"

"Because we have a bit of a vampire problem and he was talking about asking you to help."

"Well, it's a long story. How about we get some drinks, settle in and I'll tell you all about it?" Damon asked.

"A little action in Mystic Falls? I would love to contribute to that. I have to say, I have missed this little town", said Enzo with a huge grin on his face.


	9. A Helping Hand

Rosaline McBride stood on the porch of their new home. She liked small little towns like this. They made such easy prey. It was no wonder that there already was a band of vampires settled there. Susan was supposed to help them get rid of the vampires. She knew that these vampires weren't half as old as she was so she couldn't understand why Jason thought that they needed help this time. They had been doing fine on their own in the last five centuries. Frankly, she didn't like Susan but since Jason tolerated her, so did she.

Just then she saw Susan coming up the front yard and immediately she felt the anger rise up within her. She caught Susan by the arm and stopped her. "What do you think you're doing? You killed the town's sheriff. We're supposed to get rid of the supernatural not the innocents!"

"You think the sheriff was innocent? She's supposed to be a part of the town's secret council that keeps the citizens safe but she's actually teaming up with them. Her own daughter is a vampire. The council's leader is a vampire and she hasn't done anything about it. She is on their side and there's nothing you can do to change her mind. She needed to die."

"You said there was one more human with them?" Susan nodded. "Don't lay a hand on him until they turn him he isn't a threat. The hunter though is fair game."

"I'm not going after the hunter. Damon has managed to get himself a girlfriend. She's the one who manages to keep the group together. Most of them help Damon only because they love her. Kill her and the whole team falls apart. But if Damon's the leader of the revolution or whatever you call it, why can't we just kill him first. That would make it easier to get to the others." Truth be told, Susan couldn't wait to get at her target. The other deaths were just keeping her from going after the person she really wanted to kill.

"You know what Jason said. The others are a threat too. The only way to neutralize them is either to make them believe that their cause isn't worth dying or to kill them."

"The hybrid and his girlfriend no longer want any part with Damon and his plans. So does that mean I don't go after them?" Susan asked, still a little confused.

"That's right. We don't believe in taking life. We just want to keep the humans safe, just like you." Rosaline was a good liar. No one could argue with that. It was obvious from the way Susan seemed to be agreeing to everything she said.

-xx-

The brothers and Enzo made their way to the library. "So what really brings you here?" asked Stefan. He was convinced that Enzo wouldn't be here if there wasn't any trouble.

"Well, I do have my reasons but I would much rather hear about your vampire problem first", he said. Damon then told him everything about the threats and Susan, even showing him the picture. "Now you know our story so what's yours?"

"Remember how I was in Europe before I became an Augustine test subject?" The brothers merely nodded. "Well, when I was in Europe, there was a band of vampire friends – four of them. They tend to move from one place to another every few years. But what made them so special was the fact that they would live among the locals. Every time they move to a new town, they would rid the town of its vampire population. The vamps in Europe were quick to learn. Whenever there were even rumours that they were moving into town, everyone left as fast as they could. I've met one of them before, Kaitlin Moore, amazing girl, let me tell you. I saw her again earlier today so I figured I'd best be on my way. I did remember to warn you though."

"As if everything else wasn't enough. Why can't Mystic Falls just be a sleepy little town where nothing bad happens, huh?" Damon vented.

"I think that went out the window when you moved here, brother." Stefan then turned his attention to Enzo. "Is there anything else we should know about them? Because there's no way we're leaving Mystic Falls yet."

Enzo laughed. "You really think you can take on four vampires, much older than you when you're having trouble dealing with a child? You'll be dead before sundown unless you pack up all your little things and move out."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen", said Damon. "We get rid of Susan and then if your Euro-Vamps really are going to settle here, we'll deal with them too. It's not like we haven't gone against vampires ten times our age!"

"And exactly how many times did you win?" asked Enzo sceptically.

"We're all alive and well, for the most part. I call that a win."

"Well, that's your problem then. How about you let me crash here for one night and then I'll be off doing my own thing in some other continent?"

"If you're only staying for one night, I don't see why not", said Stefan and then he left the library, leaving the two friends to catch up.

"I do intend to skip town as soon as I can but I wouldn't mind hanging around during the day tomorrow and possibly staking your vampire problem. What do you say? It will be just like old times?"

Damon couldn't help but smile. It was great to have his old friend back, someone who saw eye to eye with him. Tomorrow was guaranteed to be a whole lot of fun.

-xx-

Elena had had trouble falling asleep the previous night and even when she did finally sleep, it had been filled with nightmares. So, it was no surprise that she was up before both Bonnie and Caroline. She knew it wasn't safe to go out on her own. Damon had made sure that she could never forget it. So she decided to go downstairs and see if there was anything she could occupy herself with. On the way down, she heard noises in the kitchen. Thinking Matt must be up she went into the kitchen to see him trying to make himself something edible. Standing at the door she asked, "Need any help?"

Matt looked up for the first time and noticed Elena there. "Hey, Elena. I didn't think you'd be up so early."

"I couldn't sleep." She went to the coffee pot and got it started. "I'm guessing you have to get to work soon?"

"Yeah. You and the girls ditching classes today?"

"Well, given everything that's happened, I think we're allowed to miss one day of classes."

"Susan's got her sights set on you. How are you feeling?"

"I don't know. Damon's worried. He said he would pick me up today and I'll be surprised if he lets me out of his sight until Susan's dead."

"You can't blame him though. I've seen the way he looks at you, Elena. He loves you and he's just afraid of losing you."

"I know. But when Damon's worried, he does reckless things. He puts my safety ahead of everything else and I love him for that but I can't help but think that he might end up doing something that would put him in danger."

"I've seen what Damon's done in the last two years since he moved to Mystic Falls and let me tell you, he's as good as getting out of sticky situations as he is at getting into them. If you want to worry about someone, you should worry about yourself. The way I see it, Damon's going to be fine as long as you're alive and well and by his side."

-xx-

Jeremy woke up early the next morning intending to go out for a run. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was surprised to see Enzo sitting in a chair by the fireplace talking in hushed voice to Damon. He made his way to the two vampires and without any introductions, he looked and Enzo and asked, "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Easy there. Enzo is here to help. He's going to help me rid ourselves of our little vampire problem", said Damon.

"We don't need him here, Damon. She's just one vampire. I'm sure we can deal with her just fine. We've done it so many times before", argued Jeremy.

"I hate to disagree but you lot have proved yourselves to be ill equipped to deal with Suzie or Suzanne or whatever her name is. But if I'm correct, she'll be the least of your problems. You have a bigger threat that's just waiting to running you all out of town."

Jeremy was puzzled. "A bigger threat? What are you talking about?"

"Enzo here thinks that a group of vampires that once lived in Europe is now here in Mystic Falls. These vampires like to get rid of all the vampires living in the town that they choose to settle in. Now the two of us are first going to deal with Susan and then we're going to do some digging to find out if there really is a threat. This is the best chance we have Jeremy. Don't you think you can put up with him for just the rest of the day? He's leaving tonight so we have a lot of work to do today."

Jeremy looked uncertain but at the same time, he did not disagree.


	10. To Kill a Vampire

Elena sat at the Lockwood's living room waiting for Damon to come pick her up. She soon heard his car in the drive way. Peeking out the window, she could see Damon getting out of the car. What surprised her was the fact that Enzo was getting out of the passenger seat. She had spoken to Damon last night and so she couldn't understand why he had neglected to mention that Enzo was there with him.

She went upstairs and said good bye to the girls and went out to meet the two vampires. Before Damon could explain, she said, "What is he doing here?"

"Is this how you greet all the visitors in Mystic Falls?" asked Enzo.

"No. This is how we greet the psychotic and murderous ones", Elena shot back.

"How about we save this interesting conversation for later. We have a lot of work to do today." Damon couldn't believe he was arguing for peace. This was what his brother and Elena did, not him. Elena just shot Damon a look and got into the car.

"Where are we going?" asked Elena.

"We are going to drop you back home where you'll be safe with my baby bro keeping an eye on you. Enzo and I are going on a hunting trip."

"You can't be serious!"

"Why not? We're just going to find this vampire of yours and then stake her. It's a simple enough plan. What can possibly go wrong?" asked Enzo, cutting into the conversation. He then turned to Damon and continued, "Mind if we could make a stop at the Grill? I'd like to buy myself something to drink."

"There's plenty to drink at the boarding house. You can take something from there", said Damon.

"Well, I was also hoping to talk to the bartender about your vampire. Is that where all the kids hang out?"

"Yes. But can't we just drop Elena off and then come back?"

"It's fine Damon. We'll be safe at the Grill. There will be plenty of people around. I'm sure Susan isn't stupid enough to try and pull something in front of anyone else in town", said Elena. She knew that from the moment she steps into the boarding house, she would be on house arrest and the idea didn't appeal to her. Enzo's little trip to the Grill would prolong her trip home.

Damon knew that there was no point in arguing with the two of them. They were both stubborn and there was no way he was going to win this battle. So, he just turned and parked near the Grill. The three vampires made their way into the Grill. Enzo went to the bartender without a second thought. Damon followed close behind Elena, scanning the crowd for Susan or anyone else who might be a threat. As he did this, his eyes locked on a blonde woman. Damon leaned in closer to Elena and whispered, "She's here" and pointed in the direction where Susan was sitting.

Susan wasn't alone. She was with a man. Elena wasn't sure if the man was a vampire or human. As she watched, the man started to get up and so did Susan. They were about to leave. She felt Damon pull her away and out of the Grill through a back door. Susan and the man stepped outside as well. Susan waved to the man and they started walking in opposite directions. Elena noticed the necklace around Susan's neck. The pendant had a large blue, oval shaped stone. That's how she was walking in the sun. She had somehow managed to convince a witch to cast a spell on the lapis lazuli on the pendant that would allow her to walk in daylight. Elena knew she had to act quickly but she also knew that if Damon had any idea what was going through her mind, he wouldn't let her go through with it. Susan hadn't walked more than two steps from the Grill. Before Damon could stop her, Elena made her way towards Susan at vampire speed. Without a sound, she tugged hard at the chain around her neck. Susan screamed and turned around, her face filled with horror. The man who had walked away mere seconds ago turned around to see what was going on. He saw that Susan was on fire and Elena was standing just a couple of feet away from her holding a chain in her hand. Damon stood further away but was looking in his direction. Deciding it wasn't the best idea to stay behind and watch the show, the man sped away at vampire speed.

Enzo finally stepped out of the Grill and seeing the charred remains of the vampire asked, "Missed all the fun, did I?"

-xx-

Jason was in his room relaxing, reading one of his favourite novels. All of a sudden, he heard the door slam and he could hear Aaron calling out, "Hey guys get down here. We have trouble." There was a sense of urgency in his voice.

Jason put his book down and rushed down the stairs to see Aaron looking agitated. Rosaline and Kaitlin were already there. Kaitlin was by Aaron's side and the look on his face worried her. "What's going on? What's wrong, Aaron?"

"Susan's dead. I think we've underestimated these Mystic Falls vampires. We need to get rid of them now!"

"Calm down Aaron. Tell us exactly what happened", Rosaline said, her voice soothing. She was the only person out of the four of them who could keep calm no matter what the situation.

"Susan and I were at the Grill. When we left, we headed in opposite directions. When I turned my back to her, one of the vampires snatched her necklace off and she burned to death. Damon Salvatore was there. We should have listened to Susan; we should have gone for him first."

"Look, I know you had a thing for Susan", said Jason, interrupting him. "But the truth is, she was wrong. The only reason I told her that Damon was at the centre of it all is because she already had a grudge against him. The truth is Damon isn't the centre of it all. It's Elena. She's the one who binds them all together. Kill her and the rest will fall away and loose direction. You want your revenge, go after Elena. The rest of us won't lay a hand on her. Her fate is in your hands. She's yours to kill as and when you please."

-xx-

Elena, Enzo and Damon returned to the boarding house to find Jeremy and Stefan already there. "Your little vampire threat is dead", announced Enzo as he entered.

"And you can thank me for that", said Elena as she walked in behind him. Stefan and Jeremy looked puzzled. Elena then told them how they had met Susan and her mystery vampire friend and how she had killed her.

"So that's it? She's dead and now we can just move on?" asked Jeremy excited.

"If I were you I wouldn't get too excited. You have a bigger threat waiting for you", said Enzo.

"The vampires from Europe? I'm not going to believe that until I see some proof." Damon didn't want to hear about another threat when they had just gotten rid of one and even that was just because of Elena's luck.

"What are you waiting for Damon? Are you going to ignore them until they put a stake into someone's heart the way that other vampire did? Isn't losing one person enough for you?" asked Enzo.

"What do we do about them?" asked Stefan coming to Damon's aid. "We don't know who they are or whether they are here to stay. Why would we go against a bunch of vampires who are supposed to be dangerous when there's a chance that they might not be after us?"

"Check them out. That's all I'm saying. Wasn't there another vampire with Susan?"

"There was. Do you think it could have been one of them?" asked Elena.

"Could be."

"Enzo's right. What if Susan was their friend? If there is a possibility that they might come after us, it would help if we knew about them", said Jeremy.

"Damon weren't you and Enzo supposed to see if there was a threat? Why the change of heart now?" asked Elena.

"Ok. Ok. I'll go. Can you all stop ganging up on me now?" Damon was tired but he knew they were right. If there was a threat, he had to see what it was about. He knew that even if he had been able to convince them that he wasn't going with Enzo now, he was sure that he would have ended up going by himself later.

He turned around and saw Enzo was giving him a questioning look and so he just headed out the door, the same way they had just walked in with Enzo following behind him.


	11. Strike Two?

Bonnie was used to being the anchor that holds the other side together but at times she couldn't tell if she the person in front of her was alive or dead. This was one such time. The girl standing in front of her was the same as the one in the picture that Damon had shown them earlier. That was definitely Susan; there was no doubt about it. "Susan?" Bonnie asked uncertainly.

"Tanya, actually", said the girl and she stepped closer to Bonnie and took hold of her hands. Bonnie felt a searing pain as the vampire passed through her to the other side.

Caroline opened the door to the room that the girls were sharing to see Bonnie leaning against a table wearing an expression of shock on her face. "What happened?" Caroline asked, concerned.

"Someone killed the vampire that was after us."

"That's a good thing right?"

"Yeah, it is except she said that her name was Tanya, not Susan."

"You think they killed the wrong vampire."

"I don't know what to think. She looked exactly like the girl in the picture that Damon had of Susan and she passed through me which means she is a supernatural specie."

"A doppelganger maybe?"

"I doubt that. The universe created the doppelgangers to restore the balance that was disrupted when Silas and Amara became immortal. All other immortality spells have some kind of a loop hole meaning that they aren't truly immortal, like when Esther turned her family into vampires. I should let Elena know about this."

Caroline nodded. Bonnie grabbed her phone and just as she was about to call Elena, she received an incoming call from Elena. She answered the call saying, "Hey, Elena I was just about to call you."

"I've got good news. Susan's dead. Although being the anchor, you might already know that."

"I did see her. But something strange happened. Just as she was about to pass through me, she said her name was Tanya."

"Tanya? I thought her name was Susan. Do you think we killed the wrong vampire?"

"I don't know Elena. You should be careful."

"Yeah, I will be. I'll talk to Stefan, Damon and Enzo about this."

"Wait, Enzo's in town? Why?"

"I have no idea apparently, we might have a bigger problem and Enzo's lending us a helping hand. He's out with Damon right now."

"Enzo in Mystic Falls is a very bad thing. You do know that, right?"

"I do, Bonnie. But I don't really have much of a choice here."

"I know. I shouldn't take it out on you but you know what happened the last time he was here."

"I'll keep an eye out for any trouble from Enzo or Susan or those new vampires."

"I will too. Bye." With that, Bonnie got off the phone.

"What did she say?" asked Caroline. "Other than the fact that Enzo's here."

"She doesn't get it either. She said she would talk to Stefan and Damon."

-xx-

Kaitlin was on her way out of the house when she noticed that the door to the room that was supposed to be for Susan stood open just a crack. She could see Aaron sitting on the bed and going through the contents of an ornate box. She knocked slightly on the door and Aaron looked up. He looked distraught.

"What are you doing in here?" Kaitlin asked in a soothing tone.

"Just some stuff that belonged to Susan." The box contained a necklace, a hand drawn birthday card and an old fashioned watch. "These were the only things she kept from her human life. The necklace belonged to her mother and the watch to her father. The card, however, this is the first time I'm seeing it."

Kaitlin took the card out of the box. It was clearly drawn by a kid. It said "Happy Birthday" on top and there was a drawing of two girls holding hands with each other. She opened the card. It was addressed to Tanya and read "Happy birthday, Susan, my sister and best friend – Susan."

"Who's Tanya?", she asked.

"I don't know. It says sister right? So maybe Tanya was her sister."

"She never mentioned having siblings."

"She didn't mention it to me either."

Just then Jason entered the room. He had heard enough of the conversation to know about Tanya. "Guess you didn't know her as well as you thought you did", he said.

"So, she had a sister that she neglected to mention. That doesn't mean anything", Aaron defended.

"Think about it Aaron", Jason urged. "We only keep cards that people give us. So why did Susan have a card that she sent Tanya. Shouldn't Tanya have had it?"

"I think Jason's right, Aaron", Kaitlin joined in. "You have to consider the possibility that she was using her sister's name and probably trying to fool us all as well."

"Maybe she gave us a fake name. So what? We've all done it countless times!" Aaron couldn't believe he was having this conversation. Then again, he could. Jason had always said that Susan would die in an attempt to kill the residents of Mystic Falls.

"But not among allies", Jason said. "It's time to face the facts, Aaron. She isn't one of us and she never intended to be."

"You know what? I don't have to listen to this. Neither of you knew Susan the way that I did. I need to clear my head. I'm going out."

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Kaitlin.

"No. I just need to be alone right now." And just like that, Aaron was out the door.

-xx-

There were so many things Damon could be doing right now but he was stuck in a car with Enzo. They had no direction, no information, nothing to go on. So, he just kept driving towards the grill.

"Where are you going?" asked Enzo.

"Figured the grill. I couldn't think of anything else."

"But I can. Go to Maple Street."

"Why?"

"Because I already spoke to the bartender at the grill and she told me that she has seen some new European sounding people at the grill. I also found out that one of the patrons lives in Maple Street and she saw four people moving into a house near hers."

Damon drove in silence for a while. Then he made a left into a street which had a sign saying Maple Street. "Here we are." He parked the car in front of one of the large houses. The two quietly watched the streets. Maple Street was not a busy area at all. It was primarily residential and it seemed as if it was a rare occasion when people ventured outside. After almost fifteen minutes of watching, they saw a man leave one of the houses.

"Wait a minute. That's the guy we saw at the grill", said Damon.

"What do you mean?"

"Susan was at the Grill with this guy before Elena killed her."

"It makes sense that he would be a vampire then."

"Do you think he's one of the four that you've been talking about?"

"Could be. I wouldn't know. I've only ever met one of them before."

While the two of them were talking, suddenly out of nowhere a raven flew into the windshield of the car, collided with it and fell to the ground after hitting the car's bonnet. Both of them got out of the car immediately but the bird quickly flew away.

"Thank God, that didn't leave a dent."

"Must have been one clumsy bird", remarked Enzo.

When they looked up, they saw the vampire looking back at them, his face lit up with recognition on seeing Damon. "I have a bad feeling about this", said Damon. "Let's just get going." Enzo nodded and they got into the car and made their way back to the boarding house.

"I'm sure you're in trouble with those vampires", said Enzo as he got out of the car. "If I were you, I would pack up and leave."

"That's not going to happen." The two began walking towards the boarding house. "We all have our lives here. None of us are ready to leave Mystic Falls just yet."

"It wouldn't be the first time you're being forced to move, Damon. Don't be so stubborn."

"I'm not changing my mind, Enzo. We've dealt with worse and we've survived and this time is going to be no different."

"If you're going to be stupid and stay here, then there isn't a thing I can do about it. I, on the other hand, am leaving. You know the threat is real and you know where they are living. Good luck." Enzo turned to leave and then he remembered something and turned back to Damon. "Oh, I almost forgot. I found this on my seat after that crow landed on your car." He handed Damon an envelope that Damon recognised immediately. Susan had sent him a number of notes in a similar fashion.

"Thanks", said Damon, taking the envelope and walked into the house as Enzo left, ready to put Mystic Falls behind him once more. Damon hastily tore open the letter and read it. It simple said, "An eye for an eye". Damon stared at the letter for a while. He looked up when he heard footsteps coming down the stair case.

Elena stood with her hand on the stairway and said, "Damon, you're here. We need to talk." Standing behind her was Stefan with a serious expression on his face.


End file.
